


First Impressions

by bjelkemander



Series: Âme, Chèvre, Fraternité [5]
Category: Deltarune (Video Game)
Genre: Anxiety, Friendship, Winter
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-01-02
Updated: 2019-01-02
Packaged: 2019-10-02 17:47:48
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,452
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17268617
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/bjelkemander/pseuds/bjelkemander
Summary: Asriel introduces himself to his little brother's new friend.





	First Impressions

The hands on Asriel’s watch ticked away. Minute, by minute, by minute, he grew more impatient, eyes focused on the timepiece even as he sipped his hot chocolate. He wasn’t due to head back to college for a few days, but he wasn’t really in the mood to waste the time he did have left. He was still yet to go stargazing with Kris, and so much more. They’d both missed each other dearly during Asriel’s time away, and the fact that he was entering his fortieth minute waiting in QC’s Diner didn’t exactly thrill him. He sighed and resumed staring at the door of the restaurant, sipping at his hot chocolate idly.

Suzy was her name, or something like that. He remembered her vaguely from school. She’d shown up in Kris’ class one day, years ago, transferred from another district. Asriel hadn’t cared to find out the details. There was never a good story behind things like that. She’d always been a loner, something of a bully, but mostly quiet. He’d had to arm wrestle her once, and he’d won, just. Otherwise, he didn’t know much about her, besides the fact that she was now friends with Kris, apparently, despite just how crazy that seemed to be.

That Kris was friends with Susie, not that he’d made a friend at all. It wasn’t his brother’s fault that he struggled to connect with other monsters. He wasn’t one. Asriel could never fully understand the isolation, the conspicuousness, and the humiliation of being the only human in a monster town. Asriel had always stuck close to Kris, so he’d at least have one friend in the small, insular settlement. Still, it had been a long six months away, and Asriel could hardly blame his brother for having made a friend in this absence. He just hoped there wasn’t anything deeper to the fact that he was getting friendly with a bully.

No, he thought to himself, he shouldn’t blame Kris for making a friend. Asriel barely knew anything about Susie, and he wasn’t the type to judge quickly. He’d learned that with his brother. The human may have been cold and hard on the outside, but he ached within. He felt pride in the important role he played in Kris’ life, but he knew the social isolation the human felt in their small town pained him deeply. Anything that could help relieve that, a new hobby, a new friend, a new hangout, he wanted to encourage. Kris wouldn’t make a friend like Susie unless there were some genuine spark.

Asriel’s eyes shot up as the bell at the front door tinkled. The cold winter chill blasted from outside, leaving a light dusting of snow and frost in the lobby. The purple dragon that entered lowered the hood on her parka slowly, glancing around the diner. There were very few there, including the staff. Not too surprising for that time of year, and with such horrible weather outside. Susie hadn’t been happy about the fact she had to make the trek into town, but she had made a promise to Kris. He’d said his brother wanted a chance to meet her, and she’d said she’d go along.

He was easy enough to spot - not many monsters had the same kind of long, twisting horns that he did. She shrugged her winter coat from her shoulders and waved to Asriel, shaking her hair out as she walked over. It was damp, unkempt, and matted from the snow and sweat of the trek over - not too much different from usual, though. The dragon girl took a seat opposite the goat boy in the booth at the back of the restaurant, trying to keep her back to the wall and eye on the door. She squared off Asriel, one eye hidden beneath her long, flowing mane.

“Hey. Asriel, right?”

The caprine nodded and offered his hand across the table. “And you must be Susie.”

She stared at his outstretched hand for a moment before shaking it loosely. She preferred to keep her arms folded as she sat across the opposing bench - she could see the entire diner that way. The two sat in silence awkwardly as Asriel glanced down at the menu. Neither was exactly sure what to discuss. Why had Asriel even invited her out out in the first place? It was like he thought he got to vet Kris’ friends. Was she not good enough for him? Too rough? Not smart enough at school? Well, screw that. She wasn’t going to let some high-and-mighty college boy push her around.

“Can I get you anything?” He said, pushing the dog-eared menu across to her.

“Nah. I don’t need you buying me stuff.”

“C’mon. You sure? Not even a drink?” He glanced from the monster girl to the roaring blizzard outside, the other side of the street barely visible in the howling maelstrom. “You don’t want to end up collapsing on your way back.”

He had a point. She did skip lunch to come here, and she didn’t eat breakfast usually. She certainly didn’t know what she’d be doing for dinner later. “Fine. Just get me a burger or something. Maybe some hot chocolate, if that’s okay.”

The rotund cat monster who ran the diner ambled over on cue, staring down at the two teenagers. “What can I get you?”

“Could I just grab a cheeseburger for her, and I’ll have the Caesar salad. And two more hot chocolates, please.” Asriel passed over a handful of cash - he always liked to tip well at this place, so he didn’t worry too much about the value.

The feline mumbled in confirmation and wandered away again. The two sat in silence for a few minutes as Asriel drained the last of his current drink, staring out the window wistfully. “This is the booth Kris and I would always come to, y’know.”

Susie glanced over the table, shrugging. “He did say you used to hang out with him a lot.”

Asriel drew close to the large pane glass window and huffed on it, the frosty window fogging up slightly at his hot breath. “We’d always come by after church service on Sunday... At first it was the whole family, then as we got older, just myself and him.” The goat boy traced in the patch of condensed breath as he spoke. He roughly sketched two smiling people next to each other, one with arching horns and floppy ears, just like him. “We could do this for hours, sometimes... Just drawing on the window, sipping hot chocolate.” He pulled away and sighed, finishing the last dregs of his mug. “It’s not the same anymore.”

The two watched solemnly as the sketch quickly faded away, Asriel staring back toward Susie. “Sorry. Just kinda sentimental to be back. I guess you and Kris tend to hang out more in that dark place, huh?”

Susie cocked her head. How’d Asriel know about the Dark World? Maybe Kris told him something. She couldn’t blame the kid, but she was a little surprised at just how forthcoming he seemed to be with his brother. Susie knew he liked him, but she didn’t know they were so close. “Uh, yeah. The Dark World. How’d you know about it?”

Asriel cursed himself silently. He hadn’t been intending on letting Susie know Kris had taken him there, not just yet at least. He had only ever going to be back for about a week, there was no point in driving an unnecessary wedge between anyone. “He took me there a few days ago.” He paused, considering just how much he should reveal to this girl. “It was... Interesting. Like no place I’ve ever been.” He was underselling the experience a little - how could you describe the discovery of a parallel universe? - but the lizard at least knew what he was talking about.

Susie couldn’t help but feel slightly hurt. Weren’t her and Kris the only Lightners in the Dark World? That’s why they were part of the Prophecy - Ralsei needed a human and a monster. What if they tried to complete the Prophecy without her? Asriel could easily fill in monster slot. She couldn’t imagine Kris was trying to replace her, but what if... What if that’s why he’d set up this meeting in the first place? To tell her, thanks for all the help, but Asriel’s here now, so you can go away? Well, she wasn’t going to be let down that easily.

“Yeah. It’s a pretty cool place.” She couldn’t do it. She couldn’t chew him out. Not after he’d bought her lunch. Not after she’d promised Kris she’d be nice to Asriel. Not after she’d realised how much he looked like...

“Here ya go.” The cat waitress had returned, lunch balanced on either arm. She slid the plates in front of Asriel and Susie, nearly dropping the mugs of hot chocolate to the table, before vanishing as quickly as she had appeared. The dragon girl stared at the burger and fries in front of her. She was surprised the servings were this large; QC’s was far too expensive for her most of the time. Hopefully Asriel didn’t spend too much on it. She didn’t want some kind of debt or obligation hanging over, especially with somebody like him.

“So, uh. Kris talks a lot about you.” She picked idly at her fries, keeping her eyes low.

“Mmm?” Asriel responded between mouthfuls of his salad, glancing up at her. “Like, what?”

Susie immediately regret raising the topic. So much for small talk. It was all she could say, though. Kris raved about his brother. He was always talking about what Asriel what do in a situation, what Asriel would say, how smart Asriel was, how good Asriel was. The way he spoke about him, she’d almost expected to be meeting some kind of god. Not that the goat didn’t live up to expectations. He was generous, patient, well-spoken, and smartly-dressed. She couldn’t really blame the human for looking up to him, especially since he was Kris’ adopted brother.

“Uh... Y’know.” She figured everyone knew just what a hometown pride Asriel was, least of all himself. “You just seem like a great brother to him, is all. He really looks up to you.” She paused for a moment, before quickly appending her statement. “He seems like he needs someone like you.”

Asriel became uneasy, his chewing slowing. “I love Kris a lot, Susie. Of course I do.” He placed his fork back on the plate, staring down at it intensely. “But I cant be everything to him.”

The dragon girl nodded silently, finally picking up her burger to take a huge bite. It was juicy, robust, but not excessively dry or greasy. She couldn’t remember the last time she’d had something this delicious. She quickly took another bite before remembering the conversation, wiping her mouth on her jacket sleeve. “What does he need, then?”

Asriel took a deep sip from his new mug of hot chocolate before continuing. “He needs friends like you, Susie.” He glanced up at her seriously, making proper eye contact for the first time since she’d arrived. “I can’t be around him all the time, forever. He needs to learn to be able to rely on others.”

Susie flicked her hair back, her other eye shifting from the shadow into view. “You weren’t... Going anywhere, were you?”

Asriel shook his head at the suggestion, quickly taking a bite of his salad as though to break the tension. “Oh, no, of course not.” He glanced up again mid-bite. “Kris means too much to me to do anything like that to him.” He spoke with a hint of graveness to his voice. “But I’m at college now, and I don’t know what he’s planning on doing after school.” He scraped at the bottom of his plate for any remaining leaves. “It’ll be easier for him if he has somebody like you to rely on instead.”

Susie tried not to burn up at Asriel’s remarks. She liked being able to make Kris smile, but that seemed like a lot of responsibility. What was she even meant to do if Kris came to her for help? Had a question she couldn’t answer? Asriel was everything she wasn’t - how was she meant to live up to him? She and Kris had grown closer since first meeting, yes, but it was still just friendship - was Asriel try to push her into something more? It was all moving so fast. She didn’t even know if she liked boys yet. What was she supposed to be doing for Kris that he couldn’t handle on his own?

She clearly failed to cover her blush, as Asriel grinned at her stunned response. “Sorry, I shouldn’t make it sound like so much work. He likes you, Susie, in whatever way he does. That’s good.” His grin faded to a kind smile as he placed his hand midway on the table. “The more people he has like us in his life, the better.”

The lizard girl smiled as she paused her chewing, placing her own hand over Asriel’s on the table. “I’ll do my best, alright? No promises.”

Asriel simply sipped his hot chocolate as Susie resumed chewing on her burger.

The pair sat in silence as Susie finished her meal, Asriel lazily picking through the newspaper. She burped quietly as she gulped down her hot chocolate, face burning red again before glancing toward the door, parka in hand. “There’s a break in the storm. I might try getting back home now, before it picks up again.” She glanced to Asriel cautiously. “Unless there was anything else you had to say?”

The goat boy sighed and shook his head, picking his glasses from his eyes. “Nah... I figure I should get back home too. Kris will be wondering why I’m taking so long.” He grabbed his own overcoat and pulled it on, escorting Susie to the front door. “Actually, there was one thing... You didn’t meet a small white goat with pink horns when you went to the Dark World, did you?”

Susie paused with the door half-open, the wild, howling wind buffeting through the diner once more. “Yeah, I did. Kinda reminded me of you, actually. Especially now we’ve properly met.”

Asriel scoffed as he gazed out into the tempest for a moment before pulling his hood on, patting Susie’s shoulder. “Yeah. Strange, isn’t it?” He stepped out into the snowstorm and trekked off, disappearing quickly into the fog of ice and frost.

Susie paused just a second longer on the threshold as the feline waitress glared at her to close the door. “Yeah. Strange.”


End file.
